NEW YORK — A judge has thrown out a lawsuit by a cookbook author who accused Jerry Seinfeld of hurting her reputation by mocking her on national television.
In a ruling filed with the court Friday, state Justice Marcy Friedman said it was clear the comedian was joking when he called author Missy Chase Lapine a “wacko” during an appearance on the “Late Show With David Letterman” in 2007.
The judge said Seinfeld also has a constitutional right to express his opinion.
The lawsuit stemmed from a legal battle in which Lapine accused Seinfeld’s wife, Jessica, of stealing her idea for a book on how to get children to eat healthy. Both women had published their books that year. The case became tabloid fodder, and Seinfeld addressed it on Letterman with a heaping of ridicule. The Associated Press
